Davis Life Magazinehttp://www.davislifemagazine.com
Tue, 21 Jul 2015 13:31:57 +0000en-UShourly1The Colors of Ushttp://www.davislifemagazine.com/2015/07/the-colors-of-us/
http://www.davislifemagazine.com/2015/07/the-colors-of-us/#commentsTue, 21 Jul 2015 13:31:57 +0000http://www.davislifemagazine.com/?p=19355Walking through the farmer’s market this past Saturday was both a colorful and reaffirming experience for me. I had strolled past the fragrant stalls many times over the years, but on this particular Saturday I wasn’t admiring the vibrant assortment of produce. It wasn’t the sweet scent of blushing peaches that caught my attention, or […]

Walking through the farmer’s market this past Saturday was both a colorful and reaffirming experience for me. I had strolled past the fragrant stalls many times over the years, but on this particular Saturday I wasn’t admiring the vibrant assortment of produce. It wasn’t the sweet scent of blushing peaches that caught my attention, or the golden honey beckoning with its amber warmth, or even the blackberries, sparkling like so many jewels in the light filtering through the market’s canopy. This time I was watching the colorful array of people.

Over the past few days I had become rather discouraged by the human race. I had attempted (and failed) to convince a handful of extraordinarily narrow-minded people, that helping rebuild the church of the Multiplication of the Loaves and Fishes that had been destroyed in Israel, was an act of kindness, a moral obligation, the right thing to do. They were more concerned with religious beliefs and affiliations than with helping their fellow man, and would only assist those who shared in their faith. I was astounded.

I was also sickened by the likes of Donald Trump, spouting hateful vitriol as he maligned an entire culture in one after another ignorant remark, a crowd of enthusiastic supporters waving him on in the background. I could not believe we were of the same species.

And despite the heart-warming decision to finally allow individuals to marry those they love so they too could share the precious bond so many of us are privileged to have, it was difficult to shut out voices still steeped in hatred stemming from a fear of that which they do not understand and thus threatens their way of life.

Yet there in the small strip of space taken up by vendors and customers alike, I began feeling a bit more positive despite the lack of humanity from which our world still suffers. While our fair city is not as diverse as I would like it to be, we are a fine example of tolerance and human kindness, perhaps because of the sheltered space in which we live. Sitting on the low stone wall enjoying the Saturday morning sunshine, Faith Ndama, a student from Liberia studying biological sciences and psychology at UC Davis, told me that while the town itself did not feel very diverse compared to Fairfield where she previously lived, the campus certainly did. A few moments later I spoke with Miriama Satala, a woman from Fiji who used to live in Spokane, Washington and finds Davis much more accepting. “I love it here!” she enthusiastically declared as she posed for a picture, her pink top as vibrant as the wares behind her. Just a few steps more and I found myself standing in front of a table covered in an assortment of breads, among them the familiar Challa bread, the kind I used to make with our children, sesame seeds sprinkled across their domed backs like so many freckles. Behind this tempting display stood a young woman in a hijab, who after introducing herself as Maria Sandhu, shared that she had moved to the States from Pakistan when she was two years old and had been the only student in a hijab in her class at DSHS, where she felt accepted by everyone she knew. When I asked her employer, Trudy Kalisky, owner of the Upper Crust Bakery, how she felt about diversity in Davis, there was no hesitation as she told me that diversity, “…is what made us strong as a nation. What everyone wants is a good life for themselves and a better one for their children. We’re all made up of sweat, blood and tears.”

Faith Ndama, UCD student

I made my way out of the market and past couples walking hand in hand, families laden with children and fresh vegetables, wide-eyed toddlers waiting for the clown to breathe life into their balloon animal creations. I could still hear the faint notes of the Klezmer ensemble as I walked toward Cloud Forest Cafe to join my husband for a cup of coffee. I chatted with barista Paola Monrroy, who said she found people here, “…in our own little bubble” very friendly, and that …”Davis had good vibes.” Hailing from the Bay Area, her co-worker, Lauren Turner does not find us that diverse, but enjoys meeting, “lots of international students” who make their way from campus into the coffee shop.

Paola Monrroy & Lauren Turner, The Cloud Forest Cafe

As we sat on the patio of the cafe, I mulled over the many faces I had come across in the span of an hour. I recalled The Colors of Us, a book my daughter once loved when she was still at that age when color, and religion and gender simply don’t matter. That age when we are so easily capable of appreciating and accepting each other just the way we are, our eyes looking beyond the superficial and into what counts and connects us, the heart. That evening when I went searching for it, the book was still on my daughter’s shelf, well-worn from the hundreds of times she chose it as her bedtime story. I thumbed through its pages, reacquainting myself with its main character Lena, who is taught by her mother to admire the variety of individuals in her life, “each one of them a beautiful color” (The Colors of Us, Karen Katz). It was a celebration of diversity, the very idea I saw demonstrated that morning by people who still saw the world the way it is intended to be seen, in all its spectacular color.

]]>http://www.davislifemagazine.com/2015/07/the-colors-of-us/feed/0Will They Stay or Will They Go?http://www.davislifemagazine.com/2015/06/will-stay-will-go/
http://www.davislifemagazine.com/2015/06/will-stay-will-go/#commentsFri, 19 Jun 2015 21:42:51 +0000http://www.davislifemagazine.com/?p=19335It’s that time of year again, when some of us breathe a bit easier and not just because we’ve graded our last essays, attended a couple graduations, or taken our first dip in the no longer cold water of our pools. We’re breathing a bit easier and sleeping a little more soundly because they’re gone, […]

It’s that time of year again, when some of us breathe a bit easier and not just because we’ve graded our last essays, attended a couple graduations, or taken our first dip in the no longer cold water of our pools. We’re breathing a bit easier and sleeping a little more soundly because they’re gone, most of them at least and temporarily of course. But gone nonetheless. UC Davis students have left for the summer.

“That’s when the locals come out,” according to Justin Bradley, a retail sales consultant at the downtown AT&T store. My husband and I walked in to pay a bill and the place was, “Dead, dead, dead,” as Bradley described, glancing around in amazement. And while their business is, “impacted one hundred percent,” I was thrilled that we could conduct our business and be on our way in a matter of minutes while half a dozen AT&T employees wandered aimlessly about the store.

Where to park? Anywhere!

In fact, with all that extra time on our hands, we walked down to the Davis Barber Shop on “G” Street where there too, there was no wait involved. And while Demetrius Barrera gave my husband a summer cut worthy of a Marine recruit and explained that for his business he prefers that the students stay, he had to admit that there is, “nothing like going to the movies or the bank and pulling right up” to a parking spot close to his destination. Indeed, there would have been plenty of those from which to choose had we driven rather than walked, and had we been so inclined, we could have had our pick of any seats we liked at coffee houses as well as bars. And speaking of drinking, fewer college students means a reduction in calls for police service from locals complaining about loud parties, and fewer accidents for the Davis PD to worry about, as Press Information Officer, Lt. Phan explained.

An empty Davis Barber Shop.

When asked for their opinion about the summer version of our fair city, several locals agreed that the streets were safer in the absence of, “cyclists ignoring stop signs,” as David Sutton complained, adding that, “walking downtown at night there is less tobacco smoke.” While my childhood friend, Karen Adams McCall enjoys the idea that the, “university pool has room on the grass to sit,” and when she’s doing her shopping, “the grocery store isn’t congested with roommates trying to agree on which brand of peanut butter to get.”

Where did everyone go?

Of course, Davis would not be the same if the students were not part of the colorful tapestry with which so many of us grew up. And before too many of us become overly excited about the notion of reclaiming our city, even temporarily, according to Fire Chief Nathan Trauernicht, more and more students are staying since campus has more summer offerings, and rental cycles make it difficult for students to leave. He recalls his first two years on the job when it felt like the town and campus really emptied out over summer. Yet most of the trouble still comes when the bulk of students return and brand new ones arrive, as they learn what the Chief refers to as, “bike culture,” when a lot of accidents take place as newcomers navigate new territory. The first couple of months before school gets serious are problematic as well since the fire department has to deal with a spike in alcohol related calls. And if a holiday happens to fall on a Monday and students live too far away to travel home for a long weekend, they remain in town on what the Chief calls, “staycations,” also times during which the department is kept busier. No wonder Chief Trauernicht chuckled when I asked how he felt about the students leaving town.

Yet despite the increase in the number of students who stay around, most locals I asked couldn’t help smiling at the thought of the anticipated yearly reprieve. “Imagine a university town without students,” said my dear friend and fellow writer, Kathy Williams, a faraway look in her eyes and a mischievous smile on her lips as she leaned back in her chair. “We’re like mice peeking out after the cats are gone,” she said, and I couldn’t suppress a giggle at the analogy or the dreamy look on her face.

So as not to be accused of making general, sweeping statements, not all students are problematic and some are not only quite studious and responsible, but also rather lonely when their classmates leave town and they stay behind. UC Davis student, Margarita Skiba is one of those individuals of which we’d like to see more. When I asked how she feels about the summer exodus she became rather wistful and stated that it gets, “very depressing,” and she misses seeing groups of students chatting, laughing, bringing a smile to her face as she walks through campus.

A very empty Cloud Forest Cafe. Nice.

Davis writer, Naomi Williams, shared that when she thinks of students being, “mostly gone over the summer,” she is reminded of an innkeeper in Belize who told her about the frequent rain there and their attempt to be philosophical about it. “‘It’s a pain, but it’s also why it’s so beautiful here.'” Williams says that she feels that way about the students. “They can sometimes be a pain, but they’re also why the town is special. So I enjoy the peace and quiet of summer, but I also try to feel welcoming toward the students when they all come back in the fall.”

I’ll try to keep that welcoming feeling when Mishka’s coffee house is overrun by students and their laptops, when front lawns are dotted with ping pong tables covered in red plastic cups overflowing with beer swilled by overgrown teenagers drinking themselves senseless. But right now, I’m leaving our bedroom window open as I turn in for the night, enjoying both the blessed silence and the sweet smell of jasmine floating in. I’m also trying not to think that soon, those college kids may very well be our own children occupying residences in other university towns near and far. And when that time arrives, will we be as eager to see them leave? It just might be too quiet when their rooms are empty and too many seats around the table are unoccupied. When no one rolls their eyes at a parental suggestion or asks to borrow the car, that silence may weigh too heavy to bear.

I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it. Right now, there’s a summer to enjoy.

]]>http://www.davislifemagazine.com/2015/06/will-stay-will-go/feed/0Another Way to be in Schoolhttp://www.davislifemagazine.com/2015/05/another-way-school/
http://www.davislifemagazine.com/2015/05/another-way-school/#commentsMon, 25 May 2015 14:15:08 +0000http://www.davislifemagazine.com/?p=19300In an unassuming building located on the corner of 5th Street and Russell Blvd, (526 B Street if you’d like to visit), can be found a group of pretty incredible people. Over the past five years I’ve had the pleasure of meeting several of the dedicated individuals of which the staff of DSIS is comprised […]

In an unassuming building located on the corner of 5th Street and Russell Blvd, (526 B Street if you’d like to visit), can be found a group of pretty incredible people. Over the past five years I’ve had the pleasure of meeting several of the dedicated individuals of which the staff of DSIS is comprised -The Davis School for Independent Study, established in 1991, boasts 161 students, K – 12 and a staff of eleven teachers: eight faculty at secondary level and three more at resource and elementary to eighth grade, including counselor Marvie Paulson and a part-time psychologist. While I’m certain that they all share many fine characteristics, the obvious ones are their love and respect for students. All of them are there because they have one shared goal in mind – they want to see their students succeed.

And they mean it.

According to Karrie Hernandez, principal of DSIS, every single person who comes in contact with students has “ownership.” And in the tone of her voice I could hear the pride and responsibility with which she associates this term. That means that from the moment a student walks through their school doors, they are treated with kindness and respect, beginning with Cindy Martell, the site’s administrative secretary whose smiling face greets one and all. “I think this place is awesome!” She exclaimed, followed by a shy giggle when I asked what she thought of the school. And the reason for such awesomeness? “Because our students make the choice to come here…..they seem focused on their learning…taking charge of their education.”

Taking charge is just one of the appealing aspects to so many students who find that the individualized approach to learning and teaching works best for them. DSIS allows students to benefit from an alternative form of learning, independent study guided by credentialed teachers who provide an academically challenging curriculum. Once they graduate, many of these students continue their educational journey and according to Lucy Boland, eleventh and twelfth grade teacher on her twenty-fifth year at this school, “There’s nothing that gets in the way of going to a very good four year college,” after graduating from DSIS. In addition to joining small groups of classmates for subjects such as math, science and art, students enjoy the privilege of a one on one approach as they meet weekly with a teacher assigned to them. As Ms. Boland explained, when it’s just a student and a teacher sitting across from each other, “…you can get them engaged….” since there is no “…peer pressure to be cool, so kids can get excited” about learning as opposed to being worried, as in some cases, that they will be bullied for being, “excited about education.” Ms. Boland is the kind of teacher you hope your child will be fortunate enough to have. Her hour meeting often spills into the next time slot as she does more than discuss the material at hand. She describes herself as an “…adult they can actually talk to,” and believes that DSIS offers a different way to be in school. “Small is better,” she declared, smiling warmly at me from across her desk in the small, colorful cubicle adjacent to the school’s well stocked library. Clearly this type of program will not work for everyone and, as principal Hernandez said, “not one size fits all.” Yet she proudly shared that the, “number one thing that sets us apart is that our teachers are dedicated,” and that they function, “like a family.” Of course students are expected to be just as dedicated and as Ms. Boland said, “The only pressure is that you’ve got to do your work.” Students sign a contract prior to being allowed to attend DSIS, promising to complete the work assigned them, taking responsibility for their education. As Ms. Boland explained, “The way we work here prepares you for college.” Since most of the work is done at home, one must be self-disciplined enough to efficiently manage time so deadlines are met. Not a bad skill to have prior to attending a university where fewer people are around to remind you to do your work.

We think we have a little jewel here

DSIS Library

“We think we have a little jewel here,” Ms. Paulson proudly smiled as she spoke about the K – 6 home schooling program also offered by DSIS. In this case the parent is primarily the teacher while a credentialed instructor provides the curriculum and meets with students weekly. Paulson added that workshops are available for enrichment and students also enjoy fieldtrips, the most recent for instance, an overnight environmental living field trip to Sutter’s Fort. Of course with a program such as home study, students and their families take on more of the responsibility for the learning process than typically occurs in the traditionally structured classroom. Yet she believes that the flexibility of their program means that students’ needs are better met, as it enables them to do well as they work at their own pace. And who are the students choosing to take advantage of this unique program?

“There are as many reasons for coming here as there are students,” explained Ms. Paulson. During Lucy Boland’s years with the school, she has taught students whose reasons to attend DSIS span the gamut, from health issues to their involvement in theater, swimming, motorcross, even rodeo riding. A flexible schedule allows individuals to be just that, individuals, who desire a rigorous educational program while tending to their unique needs.

DSIS Seniors

And who better to attest to this school’s value than someone who has seen its impact first hand? The Davis School for Independent Study became part of our lives five years ago, when our son needed an alternative yet academically challenging program which would fit his needs after a medical diagnosis that meant he would miss quite a bit of school. He became what is known as a, “split-site” student, dividing his time between DSHS and DSIS in a way that allowed him to fulfill all his educational obligations. And fulfill them he did. So successfully that he has been asked to be one of the speakers at next month’s graduation ceremony. He hasn’t shared the contents of that speech just yet, but I know what I would like to say now that our time at DSIS is coming to an end. Thank you. A most sincere and heartfelt thank you.

One looks back with appreciation to the brilliant teachers, but with gratitude to those who touched our human feelings. The curriculum is so much necessary raw material, but warmth is the vital element for the growing plant and for the soul of the child. ~Carl Jung

]]>http://www.davislifemagazine.com/2015/05/another-way-school/feed/0Davis Conversations – Bruce Gallaudethttp://www.davislifemagazine.com/2015/05/davis-conversations-bruce-gallaudet/
http://www.davislifemagazine.com/2015/05/davis-conversations-bruce-gallaudet/#commentsSat, 16 May 2015 16:35:13 +0000http://www.davislifemagazine.com/?p=19103Davis Conversations is a feature series at Davis Life Magazine presenting profiles of local folks who impact our community. Today, we meet Bruce Gallaudet. (Photo courtesy: The Davis Enterprise) It’s not every day you sit down with a real live Hall of Famer. Bruce joined the club in 2011 when he was knighted by Davis […]

]]>Davis Conversations is a feature series at Davis Life Magazine presenting profiles of local folks who impact our community. Today, we meet Bruce Gallaudet.

(Photo courtesy: The Davis Enterprise)

It’s not every day you sit down with a real live Hall of Famer. Bruce joined the club in 2011 when he was knighted by Davis High School…a feat all the more notable given he never walked the campus as a student or staffer. The Blue & White Foundation honored this journalist for his tireless devotion to capturing the Blue Devils in all of their athletic glories. And on those less glorious days too. Beyond DHS, Bruce has covered the whole spectrum of athletics in our community – from Little League through UCD – for The Davis Enterprise. When I read Bruce’s work, I hear notes of other voices from our past…the ones that inform small town journalism at its best. Thornton Wilder’s humanist optimism in the power of all people to improve the quality of life in families, communities, and on a wider stage. Norman Rockwell’s celebration of everyday moments, big and small, through the eyes of youth. And in the particular arena of sports, Grantland Rice’s flair for storytelling and mythmaking, balanced with a wary eye on those who threaten to spoil the simple joys of kids at play. On a drizzly Sunday morning, we braved the outdoors over coffee, tea, and a soon to be waterlogged muffin to talk sports, the news media, and covering our kids.

– A fan from the start –

Davis Life Magazine: You were born in New Jersey but grew up in southern CA. Did you grow up a Dodgers fan?

Bruce Gallaudet: No, we had moved to California as a family in the early ‘50s, so the Major Leagues hadn’t come west yet.

DLM: The Giants and Dodgers moved in ‘58?

BG: Right. So I was playing Little League – the 8th team in all of CA I think because Little League had just gone nationwide in ‘47 – and I was on a team call the Braves. We were unbeaten so I was all puffed out about that. This was ‘57. And in the Majors, the (then Milwaukee) Braves won it all. So it was a natural progression for me, and I started rooting for the Braves and stayed with them. I was obstinate when the Dodgers arrived the next year. I wasn’t about to switch over to them, but it was a great opportunity to finally see the Braves when they would travel to Los Angeles for a series. It was a dream come true if you’re eleven years old and finally your team is going to come visit.

DLM: Was that the Braves era with Eddie Mathews, Hank Aaron, and Warren Spahn?

BG: Oh yeah. In fact, I asked specifically for #14 when they gave out these (Little League) uniforms so then my mom could take the numbers off the back of these big bulky flannel uniforms and sew them back on as #41 so I could be Eddie Mathews. It was very cool.

DLM: Have you stuck with the Braves up through today, or have you adopted either of the Bay Area teams after living here so long?

BG: Forever. Lifelong Braves fan.

DLM: Understood. I grew up near Houston and have remained a die-hard Astros fan even though I haven’t lived there full-time since 1985.

BG: An Astros fan. My apologies.

DLM: Thanks. Do you have a memory of the first live game you ever attended or that impacted you? Was it the Braves in LA?

BG: I don’t know if it was the first game I attended, but I do have a specific early memory. I went to a game at the LA Coliseum between the Braves and Dodgers, and Warren Spahn – another one of my all-time heroes – was pitching against the Dodgers. He let up 6 or 7 runs in the first inning and stayed around for a complete game 18-7 victory. It was interesting to see a guy like Spahn compete: he would do everything he could to beat you. I remember reading a story about Mathews and Spahn, from a time when Mathews was a rookie in ‘53. There was a pop fly down the (left field) line in the 5th or 6th inning, and Mathews goes back from third base and makes a nice catch. It’s the end of the inning and as he’s coming off the field. He flips the ball in the stands for the fans, and Spahn lights him up in the dugout: “What the hell are you doing? You threw the ball in the stands! I’ve been working on that $!@%# thing for five innings now!” Spahn was the ultimate competitor and a really interesting story…a war hero who played ball for a couple seasons and then served in World War II, like a lot of other players at the time. He took shrapnel in the leg (Spahn saw action in the Battle of the Bulge and was awarded a Purple Heart) and came back and had this incredible career. Then, he hung in there to win 363 games…most by a left-hander. Ever. He was always told he was too small and too slow.

DLM: My high school basketball coach told me “You may be short, but you’re slow.”

BG: Sounds like my high school coach: “You may be tall, but you’re stupid.”

DLM: Nice. Why were you so attracted to sports growing up – is it the great stories, the unpredictability, the escapism? What is sports at its best for you?

BG: It’s a microcosm of real life. I can’t typically go toe to toe with someone in the real world and let it all out; there’s decorum to be followed. The real world is: you get up, you work hard all day, you come home, and if you’ve got any energy left then the family is #1. With sports, the human drama, especially the kids in college and high school sports, is really interesting. It’s great to watch kids learn life through sports. If a kid has a good coach, everything you do is a life lesson. Practice to get better at something translates to real life…competition to get ahead of the person next to you is not a bad thing to understand…play by a set of rules…sportsmanship goes a long way in office or any arena. You always need to be a good teammate. It’s an extension.

DLM: As a fan, any favorite experiences that stick with you?

BG: When I broke in as the sports editor of a small newspaper in Corona in ‘70, I got a chance to be a beat writer for the Angels for three years. And it was during their worst days…they were a horrible team despite some good pitchers like (Nolan) Ryan, (Frank) Tanana, and (Bill) Singer, but offensively they were bankrupt. So I got a chance to do that and also covered the Lakers and (UCLA) Bruins and did a handful of what I thought were memorable features. So favorite things? I’ve been to either or ten World Series games and loved all the pageantry of those, and also ten or more SC-UCLA football games. It’s hard to beat those rivalries.

DLM: Great rivalry. I’ve been to one of those myself at the Coliseum.

BG: My wife’s an SC graduate, and I’m a UCLA fan. So once a year we don’t like each other and then after that we’re okay (laughs). She knows SC doesn’t normally have a chance in basketball so that’s not even a consideration. And usually it was the other way around with football with SC clubbing us, but after the only one we attended together, she said never again. SC was up 10-7 when she took a quick break to the snack bar. She came back 15 minutes later, and it was 28-10 UCLA! Kenny Easley had run back two interceptions for TDs and returned a punt to the SC 7 yard line. She still hates Easley, who is easily one of my favorite Bruins. We’ll never see another SC-UCLA game in person.

– The budding journalist –

DLM: Your first job out of school was sports writing. Was that driven by your love for sports, wanting to write, or just a perfect marriage of the two?

BG: I always wanted to be a journalist. When I was maybe ten, they had these little toy things you could buy with movable type, and you could make up words and print papers. I got that set and did a neighborhood newspaper. So it started early. And then the marriage of writing and sports was an easy fit. I wasn’t the greatest athlete in the world so living vicariously through the real athletes was fun. I knew what I wanted to do. I fell into a job as a copy boy at the LA Times, and it felt like a good start. It’s a funny story how I got there: I was playing baseball in an industrial league, and every Sunday morning I was down at Pierce College running laps. For about three or four weeks, I ran with the same guy. We got to know each other a little, and we sat down one morning and talked about what I was doing with my life and what I wanted to do. He knew I wanted to get into journalism. He pulled out a business card and wrote something on the back, handed it to me, and said “Swing by and Meyer will fix you right up.” I looked at the card, and it reads “Otis Chandler – Publisher/Owner of the LA Times.” I turned the card over, and his note says “Meyer, give Bruce every courtesy. Otis.” So I went down there (to the LA Times building), through this incredible, opulent entry – art deco to the tenth power – and walked up to the front desk. I approached the receptionist and said “Hi, I’m here to see about a job.” She said “Oh, well, Personnel is three doors down and to the right,” and I said “Okay, thanks.” I started to walk away – because I’m a 19 year-old idiot – and then I stopped, went back, laid the card on her, and said “Does this make any difference?” She looked at it, made a phone call, and said “Meyer will see you now.”

DLM: It plays like a great movie moment. So that’s how you broke into the business.

BG: Yeah, I just happened to stumble onto the publisher of the LA Times, and he hooked me up. After that I was still working in a steel plant as well, and then had started junior college when I heard a job opened up in Corona for sports writing. I got it and jumped right into a trial by fire. Two weeks after becoming a sports writer, I became the paper’s sports editor…it was that small. I ended up staying there for almost ten years. It was great fun.

DLM: Are there any sportswriters that you especially admired coming up?

BG: There was a feature writer at the LA Times named Chuck Hillinger that I not only admired, but once I got to the Times I got some solid mentoring for him. I really liked his writing style – his feature style. Bud Furillo, who just died last year, was the sports editor at the Herald-Examiner, and he wrote a column called “The Steam Room” forever…it was syndicated as well. I had gotten to meet him through a mutual friend, and he took me under his wing. The thing I learned from guys like Hillinger and Furillo was the fewer adjectives you use, the more descriptive you could be in your stories. Get right to the point and describe what happened. For example, “he hit a mammoth home run”…that doesn’t mean anything to anybody, but if you tell them that he hit it over the fence, over the snack bar, over the river, and down to the gulley, then people get the picture that it was a long way. For other favorite sportswriters, I go back to the Damon Runyon days. You couldn’t beat the sports writing of the ‘20s, ‘30s, and ‘40s. The style was just terrific.

DLM: Was it The Enterprise that brought you to Davis?

BG: It was. I had left Corona and went to work at the Oxnard paper as the city editor. I was there about a month and was named managing editor and ended up staying there for a year. Met my wife Debbie, editor of the The Enterprise now, and we came up to Davis in a package deal in ‘79. Then in ‘83, the McNaughtons (publishers of The Enterprise and a broader family of community newspapers) said we’d like you to go to Fairfield and bring the same kind of community journalism to that newspaper (as you accomplished in Davis). So I was in Fairfield for three years and the feel just wasn’t right: I couldn’t live in this community and give it 200% in that community, so I left newspapers for a little while…freelanced for a bit and actually worked for ten years in sales over at University Honda.

DLM: Looking back now, was it a good break away from the newspaper industry to recharge and maybe make you appreciate it more?

BG: I knew I was going to miss it, and I kept dabbling in stuff. I’d write a feature here or there for The Enterprise. The break was good but I always knew I’d end up back in newspapers.

– Nothing stays the same –

DLM: Since your debut as a copy boy with the LA Times, the sports media landscape has changed dramatically. The death of print journalism has been forecast many times.

BG: How has it changed for print newspapers? My belief is that big metro newspapers are going to be the first dinosaurs that don’t survive. And community newspapers like The Enterprise are going to be the last standing. The difference is that most of what you can get in the big city papers – stories from Washington and New York and Baghdad – are things you can get more readily anywhere.

DLM: Easy to get online. And for free.

BG: Right. It’s easy to get. But if your kid goes 2-3 in a Little League game and drives in the winning run in the sixth inning, you can only find that in The Enterprise. If you’re having a crab feed on Tuesday to try to raise $12,000 for football equipment, you’re only going to read that in The Enterprise. And what happens at the City Council meeting or DHS baseball game or UCD gymnastics. You might get the score from The Bee or The Chronicle, but you won’t get a 25-inch story with photographs. The Enterprise is one of the most blessed newspapers in the country. You could probably count on your hands and toes the number of communities that have a daily newspaper and also have a world class university, one high school, and the kind of activism Davis has. As journalists and as a newspaper, we’re blessed. But it’s a two-way street. The Enterprise tries to do its part on behalf of the community by trying to cover virtually everything it can and being a contributor. And having a real relationship with the city because our staff has deep ties. We have members who’ve been here 30+ years, so the understanding of the community is pretty complete at The Enterprise. My wife is a Davis encyclopedia.

DLM: Do you feel pressure – from The Enterprise, peers, readers, subjects – to be more engaged in social media as a journalism platform?

BG: I see social media for journalists as opening Christmas presents early. If I’m tweeting so and so has won by 12 points, I’ve still got a story to write for the media. It’s great that everybody knows the score, but if they don’t find it out from me, they can go online wherever and find something to tide them over till my print stuff hits. Is there pressure? Yeah, there probably is. And I’ve now gone on Facebook, and I will start tweeting. I may not be very good at it or consistent, but I’ve made a pledge to start doing it this year. Being the old guy at the paper, I’m just fine hitting my deadlines and having the stories run when the papers come out. They have to retrain me to be a technological contributor (smiles). The whole world of technology has gone from Andy in Mayberry to Star Trek in the time that I’ve been in the business.

DLM: As technology makes it so much easier for people to have a voice and put their opinions out there, has it opened the door to more cynicism or shock value across media? Everyone trying to drive more views to their Twitter feed or websites?

BG: Everyone is looking for their niches. There are definitely more people out there and with that you have more unconfirmed reporting and not as many making sure all the T’s are crossed and I’s are dotted. Is there more shock value? I don’t know. Probably not. In the ‘50s and early ‘60s, daily newspapers were pretty shocking. There’s what they called the 100 point wood headlines: “MARILYN FOUND DEAD” and all kinds of sensational stuff. I grew up when Mickey Cohen was floating around Los Angeles, and the LA Mirror was the sister of the LA Times. Anything below the LA Times wound up in the Mirror. So it’s been around forever. I don’t think its more sensational, just more of it in terms of volume. And everything is under the microscope. There are books about heroes of mine that can be really disappointing in how much they revealed. Jane Leavy is a great writer and wrote the book on Mantle (“The Last Boy”). I was glad my dad never read it. Having grown up in NY, if he read all that stuff about his idol Mantle…if he wasn’t already dead, it would’ve killed him. There’s more mythbusting now in sports. 40 or 50 years ago, you wouldn’t have steroid coverage or an Adrian Peterson scandal. It’s good that it’s out there because it’s truth, but the innocence gets killed. Where do you hang your hat if you’re nine or ten years old?

DLM: With those changes, has there been a shift in the dynamic of the relationship between athletes and journalists? It seem like where it used to be more protective, there’s now a large part of the journalism practice always looking for that gotcha moment and even relishing it?

BG: It can be adversarial. Even with what I cover. Even in my little world here in Davis, I try to be straightforward with the guys and as a result can get into it a little with coaches now and again and once in a while with an athlete. What used to happen long ago, in the golden era of Runyon and his peers, was they lived with these guys and were on the train from St. Louis to Detroit or New York to Baltimore. The writers spent time playing cards with the ballplayers and were friends with them. And what happened off field never got to print. It was about self-preservation because if you did say Babe Ruth was a womanizing drunk, then you’re not on train anymore and not getting the stories. It’s a way different time now. These days, people are looking. Watergate changed journalism.

DLM: Not just political journalism.

BG: No, the whole thing. Everyone that wants to make an impact is looking for those stories. The dynamic has just changed.

– Covering the locals –

DLM: I think I notice some subtle differences in your writing depending on the subject. Do you consciously change your approach when writing about Little League or DHS or UCD? Do you move from creating scrapbook content for the small kids to more objective journalism as they get older?

BG: That’s exactly right. In Little League coverage, you want to show the budding passion, and grandma gets a copy. In high school it’s a learning experience. There are some great stories to be told, but there’s not a worldliness to the athletes when they’re 14 or 17. In covering those games, there’s no sense in rubbing their nose into shortcomings. So there’s a sense of forgiveness, though not total protection. Especially when the adults act up. And then with UCD, the expectations for the players and coaches are higher and you have to cover it in a more straightforward way.

DLM: With both UCD hoops teams doing so well this season, it’s got to be more fun for you as writer to cover…compared to having to find the silver linings and moral victories when a team is struggling.

BG: (Winning is) better for coaches and players than for me because there’s always a story there. As a journalist, your job is just to find it. But it’s no secret that with wins come enthusiasm, and that energy is fun for everyone.

DLM: I grew up in east Texas, in the heart of Friday Night Lights, and then went to school at The University of Texas in Austin, where the Longhorns are practically treated as a pro team in terms of expectations and coverage. So it’s been interesting for me since moving to Davis to observe how starkly different the coverage of the local teams is here…seems considerably more glass half-full and forgiving. If Gould (UCD football coach) was in Austin and started 7-16 in his first couple seasons, the media would be calling for his head.

BG: Last year I was fairly critical in areas and put the questions to Gould…you can’t be afraid to ask the tough ones as long as you’re being fair.

DLM: How much does being part of small town community change how you cover UCD?

BG: Not at all.

DLM: So there’s no difference in how you cover the Aggies and how you would cover a high profile, big city program like UCLA on the beat for the LA Times?

BG: None. They should know better. So if they’ve got warts, here’s the warts. If they’re doing well, here’s them doing well. My charge at this point is to not sound like a sophomore and go “Wow, aren’t these guys good.” There are some people who think I’m a homer, and sure I want UCD to kick the crap out of Sac State, but am I going to make excuses for the home team? No, not unless there are valid ones. Like the injuries that decimated the men’s basketball team last year and was a huge factor in going 9-22.

DLM: Do you care about being perceived a homer?

BG: Hell no. I’m not a homer in that I’m hoping I’m giving the straight story and pulling together the facts on whatever needs to be said, including being critical where I perceive it to be necessary. But it is community journalism. We are Davis, and we circle the wagons in a lot of ways in this community.

– Life in Davis –

DLM: What do you appreciate most about living here?

BG: The schools were great for my kids…terrific atmosphere. People that live here feel safe and cared for. What’s not to like?

DLM: If you’re mayor for the day, would you change anything?

BG: The Bicycling Hall of Fame…I’d go in a little different direction now that Lance and his buddies have wrecked the sport for road racing. I actually wrote about that recently. I’d also bring the community together to see how we can better use city and school facilities for all of the groups around town, from Davis Diamonds to Davis Little League.

BG: My wife works the hours I don’t…we’re ships in the night. My perfect date night is actually a Sunday morning, sleeping till 11. Really, there is no such thing as perfect date night in Davis because there are so many things you can do.

DLM: That’s a good Davis Chamber of Commerce answer.

BG: (Smiles) Well, I was the Chamber’s director for almost four years.

]]>http://www.davislifemagazine.com/2015/05/davis-conversations-bruce-gallaudet/feed/0Vocal Art Ensemble – Mostly Madrigalshttp://www.davislifemagazine.com/2015/04/vocal-art-ensemble-mostly-madrigals/
http://www.davislifemagazine.com/2015/04/vocal-art-ensemble-mostly-madrigals/#commentsWed, 29 Apr 2015 22:30:18 +0000http://www.davislifemagazine.com/?p=19267What exactly is a madrigal, and what makes it so? Where did it come from, and where did it go? This May, the twenty-five singers of the Vocal Art Ensemble (VAE) aim to answer these questions and more with their spring concert program entitled Mostly Madrigals—An Age of Refined Musical Pleasures. “The idea sparked when […]

]]>What exactly is a madrigal, and what makes it so? Where did it come from, and where did it go?

This May, the twenty-five singers of the Vocal Art Ensemble (VAE) aim to answer these questions and more with their spring concert program entitled Mostly Madrigals—An Age of Refined Musical Pleasures.

“The idea sparked when one of my singers asked me to define just what a madrigal was,” explains VAE director Tracia Barbieri. “I realized there were probably many music lovers who don’t really know the answer either, and that I could create a whole program to show them!”

So Barbieri set out to craft an educational as well as entertaining choral program, where VAE could trace the heritage of the genre by musically illustrating several of the madrigal’s compositional characteristics.

For example, showcasing ‘word-painting’ will be the two-part madrigal Thule: The Period of Cosmography, composed by Thomas Weelkes in 1600 when he was just twenty-four years old. “Weelkes was playing around with the imagery of an erupting volcano,” says Barbieri. “Through overlapping scales he paints the picture of billowing ‘sulphurious fire’, and with scattered entrances of the voices he imagines flying fishes leaping away from the lava as it flows into the ocean. It’s all so much fun to sing, I’m not at all surprised it was all the rage with both peasants and aristocracy back in Weelkes’ day!”

According to Wikipedia, a madrigal is defined as “a secular vocal music composition […] of the Renaissance and early Baroque eras. Traditionally polyphonic madrigals are unaccompanied, the number of voices [varying] from two to eight.” It also defines word painting as “the musical technique of writing music that reflects the literal meaning of a song.”

The madrigal selections in the Mostly Madrigals concert program will range from three to six parts; VAE will utilize as few as one or two singers on a part, to as many as six.

“To me the most challenging and interesting aspect of this music is how to embody both the lightness and delicacy of the lyrics and notation, and at the same time convey the powerful emotions underneath,” says VAE soprano Jeri Ohmart. “This music often carries us along like bubbles on a stream, but that stream runs deep and the currents underneath are strong! I love it!”

“It is fun to sing pop music from 500 years ago,” adds tenor Rob Woodman. “It is playful, inventive, and shatters convention and decorum just like pop music of today. It not only gives us full permission to be creative, but begs us to go beyond simply beautiful singing into a full bodied, lusty, grab-you-by-the-ears tug into an experience of the musical relationship.”

But why is the program entitled Mostly Madrigals?

Because, says Barbieri, the concerts also include examples of other types of compositions she views as related. “I want to give a taste of the madrigal’s influences both across the globe and through the generations,” she says, “so we’ll also perform sacred music from the same period that perhaps inspired or was inspired by this genre, as well as a little ethnic music that embraces some of the same compositional techniques.”

VAE will be joining forces with the Baroque & Beyond recorder ensemble, a group of Sacramento-based historic enthusiasts who play on authentic Baroque and Renaissance wooden instruments. Soprano Laura Sandage will act as narrator and educator, guiding listeners through the concepts they will hear.

The program will then conclude with several selections from two Madrigal song cycles by modern composer Morten Lauridsen. “After hearing our program, the audience can decide for themselves whether they consider them true madrigals or not,” jokes Barbieri.

Mostly Madrigals will premiere on Friday, May 1, 2015 at 7:30pm at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Sacramento (2620 Capitol Avenue). Additional performances will be Saturday May 2 at 7:30pm at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Davis (27074 Patwin Road) and Sunday May 3 at 4:00pm at the United Methodist Church of Davis (1620 Anderson Road).

The suggested donation, which will be gratefully accepted at the door, is $10-25.

]]>http://www.davislifemagazine.com/2015/04/vocal-art-ensemble-mostly-madrigals/feed/0Gone, but not forgotten.http://www.davislifemagazine.com/2015/04/gone-but-not-forgotten/
http://www.davislifemagazine.com/2015/04/gone-but-not-forgotten/#commentsFri, 24 Apr 2015 15:39:26 +0000http://www.davislifemagazine.com/?p=19246Most of us have one. We don’t even have to think too long before sharing its name, its location and what we like best about it. Some of us even have a favorite table, a particular view from a perfectly placed chair, and of course, a favorite item on a menu. In fact, some of […]

Most of us have one. We don’t even have to think too long before sharing its name, its location and what we like best about it. Some of us even have a favorite table, a particular view from a perfectly placed chair, and of course, a favorite item on a menu. In fact, some of us like that item so much that the proprietors know who we are based on the order we place. And best of all, we associate certain memories with these favorite haunts, the only thing we really can share considering how many of them are gone.

I hadn’t really given this subject much thought until a couple of weeks ago, when my family and I sat down to a farewell dinner at the Silver Dragon, our favorite Chinese restaurant for the past twenty – two years and one that would be closing its doors in three days. My husband and I had frequented this establishment while still dating, sitting side by side as new couples tend to do, delighting in the good food and each other’s company. We even took home one of the paper mats displaying the Chinese zodiac, a souvenir of the dinner date we had so enjoyed. And since we found the restaurant worthy of a return visit, we told our friends and thus began a Friday night ritual, all four of us bonding over sesame chicken and egg fu young, snow white rice and endless noodles. When our children were old enough to appreciate the taste of a new culture, we introduced them to some of our favorite flavors, (conveniently not mentioning the crab meat in the cheese fried wontons until they were old enough not to balk at the unfamiliar), and soon they too would suggest the Silver Dragon for special occasions worthy of celebrating.

As we lingered over the last of the tea, munching on cookies and reading each other’s fortunes, we started listing the many other establishments with which we associated enjoyable experiences, some long before we had known each other. On report card days, my mother used to take my brother and me to La Esperanza, to celebrate our good grades over endless baskets of tortilla chips and my favorite menu item, The Sombrero, a creation at which I marveled before digging in to its many layered goodness. I loved the dim surroundings and the soft-spoken waitresses, the food which was plentiful and exotic to my Israeli palate. When the building in which it was housed was demolished, we tried its other location at the University Mall, but it just wasn’t the same.

If I delve even further into my culinary past, I have to pay homage to Straw Hat Pizza, although I’m not sure what I loved more – the smell of baked dough smothered in cheese or the fact that you could ask an employee for a penny to ride the Charlie Horse, while a Flash Gordon film played on the screen in the background. The place was more amusement park than restaurant and since I couldn’t have been more than six years old, I loved it.

And just a few doors down from that wondrous place, was another establishment which to my foreign eyes, was the embodiment of an old-fashioned American ice-cream parlor. Marvelees was as bright and loud as La Esperanza was dim and subdued. I loved everything about it, from the white, wrought-iron chairs, the mural of a Davis scene on its large wall, to the gleaming chrome of its lengthy counter. Perhaps the memory is made sweeter because it was there that I went on my first date with an American boy who dared to hold my hand as we dipped into chocolate ice-cream sundaes served in tulip shaped glasses. Teenage crushes and sugar. A winning combination.

And speaking of sweet love, it was many years later when the real deal walked through my door and we spent our first date over a cup of coffee at Cafe Tutti, right across from where the Davis police department used to be and is now Bistro 33. I don’t recall anything remarkable about the actual cafe, but I will never forget that cup of coffee and nearly three hours of shy getting to know you conversation with the man who would become my husband. Okay, so I was a cheap date.

Soga’s, The Blue Mango, The Good Earth, AJ Bumps, Mr. B’s, The Ding How, Colette, even the Dairy Queen, gone. (Ironically, Jack In The Box still stands…). While the offerings at some of these long-gone eateries was certainly worth our patronage, (Max’s amazing lemon crepes at the Crepe Bistro, the Marrakesh’s heavenly Moroccan Tagine, The Farmer’s Wife and its decadent Napoleons), what some of us remember most fondly are the occasions that brought us there and the people with whom we shared them. Whether it was a Fuziotini with my good friend Scott at, where else, Fuzio, or Schnitzel and red cabbage at Little Prague where the tortured looking violinist played lovely melodies in the background; these places fed our appetites and served as memorable backdrops to the chapters of our lives.

April 26, 2015 – Editor Note:

The restaurant, Silver Dragon mentioned in the article above, original decision having changed or been put on hold, has not closed. The restaurant is currently open for business. It appears there is a possible stall in change of ownership. We will update if this changes.

Also of note: Ding How mentioned in the post as having closed, was located downtown. The Ding How located on Covell Blvd. is still open and thriving!

]]>http://www.davislifemagazine.com/2015/04/gone-but-not-forgotten/feed/6I’m going to be fiftyhttp://www.davislifemagazine.com/2015/03/im-going-to-be-fifty/
http://www.davislifemagazine.com/2015/03/im-going-to-be-fifty/#commentsFri, 27 Mar 2015 21:52:43 +0000http://www.davislifemagazine.com/?p=19186I’m going to be fifty. Not just yet. But some day, not in the too distant future, it’s going to happen and there’s nothing I can do about it. Although I have considered moving to another city, since living in a university town is probably the worst place to be if you are trying to […]

Not just yet. But some day, not in the too distant future, it’s going to happen and there’s nothing I can do about it. Although I have considered moving to another city, since living in a university town is probably the worst place to be if you are trying to avoid thinking about getting older.

This thought occurred to me as I sat at a table outside Mishka’s Cafe, while my (even older) husband was inside ordering our drinks. There would have been no avoiding this revelation even had I waited indoors with him, since each and every table was occupied by students, reading, writing, chatting, their youth glowing in the electric light of their laptop screens.

But outside, gaggles of girls paraded past me, their feet encased in shoes with heels that caused my ankles to ache just looking at them as they traipsed by. It seemed like I had been them not too long ago, willing to suffer in shapely shoes that rendered me nearly immobile by the end of a day. These young UC Davis students were sleeveless in the slight breeze which made me clasp my sweater a bit closer. There had been a time when I too ignored the weatherman’s advice in the name of fashion, but I now realize that comfort is by far more important than any statement my choice of clothing might make.

And speaking of clothing, unless you can afford the wondrous creations found in a store such as The Wardrobe, there are few choices left for our shopping needs in this town, especially if you are well on your way to fifty and aren’t quite ready to admit it. I swore up and down that I would not darken the door of Forever 21 when it first opened. Yet my daughter came home astounded by its size as well as by the biblical reference on the bottom of its bright yellow bags (John 3:16 if you’re curious), and I gave into temptation.

As I walked through the store which appeared to have taken over an entire city block, I was wondering where religion fit in as I pulled out hanger after hanger of clothing so sheer and slits so high that nothing was left to the imagination. I would have had to purchase extra layers just to fill in the gaps left gaping open. It was as if the designer had been suddenly distracted and stopped abruptly midriff on every single shirt. When I finally did find an item that wouldn’t cause heads to turn for all the wrong reasons, I made my way to the dressing rooms (coed by the way). There I was shown to a stall by a slim young thing who said something I couldn’t hear as my ears were assaulted by some form of music piped in for our listening pleasure. Perhaps they hoped that the decibels would delude customers into believing they really did look good in the scanty clothing as hips involuntarily gyrated to the wild beat, and the pounding drowned out the sensible voice advising against the purchase. All it did for me was cause heart palpitations and a desire to hurry it up and hightail it to the quiet of my car. In hindsight, it’s probably a good thing that no one could hear me as I attempted to wiggle into the garment that had looked so promising on the rack where I should have left it. If you are a woman who needs to breathe freely, and one who indulges in an occasional meal, do yourself a favor: stay away from this store. Not to mention those of us who have had children and now own hips. Don’t do it unless you plan on giving up any of those (not the children, of course).

After much swearing and a whole lot of wriggling I managed to extricate myself from the item deceptively marked “Large.” I even smiled weakly at the slim young thing who wanted to know how it had worked out for me as I handed her the wretched torture device passing as clothing. She must not have heard my muffled cries for help while still ensconced in what someone had called a dress. I am not a large woman but I left the store with my hair a mess from doing battle, and a far worse image of myself than when I had foolishly walked in, despite the large sign with the unmistakable number atop the building, and the noise which spilled out the doors and could be heard in the parking lot. “Forever” must have more than one definition.

And speaking of noise – there are nights when I sincerely wish I could lift the cozy home we’ve built and place it elsewhere, perhaps atop a remote mountain range, to avoid the party music emanating from the rentals into which so many students have moved. “It’s not getting louder, you’re getting older,” my lovely husband will say when I complain. Okay. So twenty minutes of sweeping leaves in our garden winds me, and I’m not getting into our pool until it’s a toasty seventy-eight degrees. But that’s not age, that’s being spoiled, and you should see the size of our Oak tree and the mounds of foliage it’s capable of producing.

This recent discovery that parts of me were slowing down while my surroundings were not, caused me to rethink my scheduled visit to our local library to check their incredible selection of used books for sale. I stood in front of the still locked doors with seven minutes to go, the crowd of young mothers and toddlers growing thick around me, excitement and anticipation in the air. Great adventures were to be found just beyond that door, and toddlers were being distracted in various ways as they impatiently put up with the interminable wait. One mother explained the magic of the automatic book return, her little girl watching in fascination as her bedtime stories vanished into the hole in the wall. Another parent was plying her offspring with snacks she deftly pulled out of a large bag, small mouths upturned in anticipation like so many baby birds. I had once been that mother, my two readers in training barely reaching the check-out counter, their arms laden with books they had proudly selected. As I stood in the center of all this youthful activity, hot tears gathering against my will, I realized that I had managed to schedule my visit to coincide with the library’s story time and those doors couldn’t open fast enough.This town was turning into an emotional mine field and from now on Tuesdays at 10:00 a.m. were out.

This town was turning into an emotional mine field and from now on Tuesdays at 10:00 a.m. were out.

Of course there is nothing that emphasizes the march of time quite as markedly as having children, since one cannot help but notice the progress they make, changing by leaps and bounds under our very eyes, one of them even driving herself to Forever 21 without her shell-shocked mother in tow.

On the other hand, perhaps being surrounded by youth should be looked at from a different angle, a dip in a fountain that may keep us feeling young at heart and on our toes, as long as the fountain is warm enough and the toes are on the same level as the heels.

Davis Conversations is a feature series at Davis Life Magazine presenting profiles of local folks who impact our community. Today, we meet Derrick Bang. Derrick has long been the preeminent film critic and Peanuts authority in the area. Despite his loaded schedule writing movie reviews for The Davis Enterprise, creating marketing materials for UCD’s Engineering Department, helping customers at Newsbeat, and maintaining two popular blogs – Derrick Bang on Film and Derrick Bang’s Guide to Peanuts – he generously took time to sit down for an interview. Over hot cocoa (him) and tea (me), we discussed film, Peanuts, and life in Davis.

– A nascent love for cinema starts with Monstro, a decapitation, and Bond –

Davis Life Magazine: Do you remember the first movie you saw? Or the first one that made an impact on you?

Derrick Bang: Oh wow, I can give you some early ones but I’m not sure which would’ve come first. The first time I saw Pinocchio I bawled my eyes out when he got swallowed by the whale because it was just one thing too many. And I remember that moment. Obviously this would’ve been a re-release, but I’m guessing I would’ve been around four or five or six. That’s probably the earliest one I can think of. I’ll tell you a funny story that was fairly early on for me. It was 1964. My father got me hooked on James Bond movies pretty quickly.

DLM: Same in our house.

DB: Goldfinger came out in ‘64 and it was co-billed with – of all things – Hush… Hush Sweet Charlotte, which played first. I would’ve been nine. And I got about ten minutes into that film, right to the point where Bruce Dern’s hand gets chopped off. And I got up, and I left. This was back in the day when movie theatres had lobbies and I never traveled anywhere without a deck of cards. So I just sat in the lobby playing solitaire. My father stayed in the theatre – this was a different era. About 45 minutes later, he came out to get me and said “I think it’s okay now.” Now this I remember vividly: we walk back into the theatre, down the aisle to the seats, just as on the screen somebody’s head comes bouncing down the central staircase. I never even made it to the chair. I just turned right around and went right back to the lobby and didn’t come back till my father came to get me. Then we watched Goldfinger, and that was fine.

DLM: Were movies always a passion growing up?

DB: Oh yeah, both of my parents went to the movies a lot when they were dating, and once I was old enough to join them we’d go to movies fairly often, maybe once every two weeks, which was a lot for back then.

DLM: Sometimes generations will be quick to say “They don’t make them like used to”…do you think there is some real decline in overall movie quality since some distant golden age, or is it more driven by sense of nostalgia and sample size effect?

DB: That’s exactly right. Back in the ’40s and ’50s – the heyday of Hollywood cinema – movies would change at your local downtown theatre three times a week. Every week. Now think about the product that was being pumped out to fill that kind of schedule. You know there was a lot of crap. Had to be. So every time my father lays that line on me – which he does – I sit down and compile a list of great films that have come out in the last few years and say look for these.

DLM: It reminds me of the central theme of the Woody Allen movie Midnight in Paris: every era is nostalgic for a previous era, but those in that previous era glamorized the era even before that.

DB: I think it’s fueled by context. And I’ve read science to this effect…songs impact us the most between the ages of 13 – 21, and nothing we hear from that point forward ever resonates with the intensity that it does at that age. The reaction it evokes. So if that’s true of music, I suspect the same thing is true of what we see – movies, tv shows. So rightly or wrongly I think we have this strawberry lens view that enhances what we see at that point in our lives.

DLM: You mention that age range (13-21), and that’s when puberty has kicked in, hormones are changing, there may be a first date, first kiss, first break-up…there is so much significant new life experience. I think the music you’re listening to at that point – or the movie you’re watching – becomes the soundtrack of your life, and that’s why it sticks.

DB: That’s very true. And then once you become an adult, you don’t have as much time. You’re distracted by having to work, feed a family, whatever. But from growing up, I can remember some movies I saw at that age because of who I was with.

– Hollywood, for better or worse –

DLM: Here we sit in early February, and the perception is that January and February is a toxic dumping ground for awful film releases.

DB: It’s not a perception, it’s true. It’s absolutely true. It hasn’t always been that way, and it would be great to go back and figure out when that started. There are actually two dumping grounds: the first one tends to be mid-January to mid-March actually, not quite January – February, because for the first couple weeks (of the new year) you’re still catching up with the wide releases of the big Oscar-bait.

DLM: The ones that opened in only New York and Los Angeles in December to qualify for awards season, and now they’re coming to the rest of us?

DB: Right, so there are some good films coming out early in the month (January), but beyond those, if you’re talking about ones actually dated in the new year, nobody wants to touch it in terms of mainstream releases, and it’s just junk. And the other one (dumping ground) is September to October.

DLM: Are those ones that didn’t make the cut for summer and also not ready (in terms of quality) for the awards push later in the year?

DB: Well, we’re not in the holiday season yet, so same thing. September and October tends not to be as bad (as mid-January to mid-March) because people seem willing to go to movies in September and October.

DLM: For attendance in those toxic months then it seems like a chicken or the egg thing…

DB: Well, that’s the eternal chicken or the egg. Every time Hollywood complains when it has an off year and they look for all kinds of other reasons, inevitably there are letters to the editor saying “Hey, make better movies and we’ll go see them.” And I think there’s a great deal of truth to that. 2014 was not a terrific year for great films.

DLM: So as a critic, do you dread these times of the year?

DB: Oh yes.

DLM: I read an interesting article recently about the creative dearth in the movie industry, and it includes a graphic showing that over the next five years, there will be 34 superhero movies. And to take it a step further, not even counting those 34, there’s another 70 movies total that are sequels or remakes of some sort. Is it just perception, or do you think there is more of that than there used to be? It feels lazy.

DB: Well, there are a lot of things pushing that. As recently as the ’70s, there were still movie studios that were movie studios and hadn’t yet been purchased by conglomerates. There were still moguls who were movie people. The moment all film studios got absorbed into giant corporations, they (movies) started getting treated the way network news gets treated on television. It was no longer good enough to have this entity that might not be making money but gives you prestige. Now they don’t give a rat’s ass about prestige; they’re beancounters and just want the bottom line. So you’ve got that fueling it. The other major part is the rapidly expanding international market, notably China. Superhero movies play phenomenally well in China, Japan, and SE Asia. And even in Europe. The dialogue is never terribly difficult so it dubs easily, and when your creative base is being driven by that consideration, I’m afraid quality never even comes into the picture. Now having said that, there are obviously people who can work within those constraints and still make wildly entertaining movies. There’s no shortage of good stuff out there, it’s just gotten harder to see at your local multiplex. I worry about the continued existence of the downtown movie theatre; I’m not sure that business model’s going to survive.

DLM: Especially as the cost of seeing movies at home comes down, the screens at home get bigger, and the timing from cinematic release date to home availability shrinks. I’ve even noticed recent promos at the theatres now specifically focused on why you should want to see a movie in the theatre instead of at home, so clearly they’re sensitive to it.

DB: I agree. I think under ideal conditions – and I hasten to add that – nothing beats seeing a good film with a full and engaged theatre audience. But that caveat is under ideal conditions…audiences have gotten ruder, with cell phone technology not having helped at all in that respect. People in general seem to be very narcissistic these days and loathe to turn off their devices. That’s one of the very nice things about the way my wife and I see movies because more often than not we see advance screenings and cell phones are banned. Period.

DLM: Another way the cinemas have really tried to push the value of the theatre experience in the last 10 years has been 3D.

DB: Well done 3D can be amazing. James Cameron did a phenomenal job with Avatar. Just amazing. The first How to Train Your Dragon – great 3D. 90% of the rest of 3D movies don’t necessarily benefit, clearly weren’t designed with it mind…and not a storyline that lends itself to it, so it’s superfluous. And then the other problem is that if it’s not filmed in 3D but it’s added after the fact, it ruins the movie because it darkens it. The recent Clash of the Titans (where 3D was added post-production) was so dark…the sequence where he (Perseus) goes after Medusa underground…you couldn’t see what the hell was going on. Though as I said in my review, in a way that was a benefit because it was such a bad film; that was a section we didn’t have to worry about watching.

DLM: And yet they made a sequel.

DB: (Audibly sighs) That’s because it did well overseas.

DLM: After the success of Avatar, James Cameron opined that 3D isn’t just for a certain genre of movies but really any movie – even a drama – could benefit from 3D because it gives you a more realistic, natural experience.

DB: Sure, and I believe that. But it has to be done well. Hitchcock was pretty clever with Dial M for Murder. He did a very good job with it (3D). The most iconic moment is when Grace Kelly is being strangled and almost killed, and she’s reaching back, which is when she eventually grabs the scissors and her hand is coming right out at you. It’s very effective.

DLM: So you like Dial M for Murder, but I noticed North by Northwest on your favorites list on your blog profile. Is that your favorite Hitchcock then?

DB: Yeah. I’m a Hitchcock nut. I have more books about Hitchcock than Hitchcock made movies. And he made 50-something movies.

DLM: My favorite of his has always been Strangers on a Train. And because I just read that it’s going to be remade shortly, I’m curious about your opinion in general on remakes. I have a gut aversion to remakes, but should I be more open-minded? Is there value in reinterpreting it through new eyes?

DB: I firmly believe there are some properties that should never be remade. And everybody’s entries on that list are going to be different. I can point to things like Casablanca, The Wizard of Oz, and The Godfather. They are just perfect the way they are…such an ideal marriage between director and scripter and cast. And when they were made, which is important. Now that group aside, whatever is in that bucket, everything else is up for grabs if – and this is the important part – you’re not going to at least equal or improve upon the original, then you’re wasting your time. And my objection is that for one reason or another, most remakes are inferior to the original. And I don’t understand that because I don’t think it needs to be that way.

DLM: The timing aspect is interesting too because I can see the justification where if there is a great movie from 50 years ago that’s lost on a younger generation today, it’s a way to introduce them to it since they won’t likely ever go back to the original.

DB: Sure, and you can also make the argument that it’s reasonable to entice modern viewers with modern players. They want to see their actors in a movie. And maybe that explains why some of the most successful properties that have gone through remakes are stories that aren’t contemporary. I’m thinking of The Three Musketeers; it seems that every generation has its version of that story, going back to the ’30s.

DLM: My pet peeve with remakes is when a very good foreign movie, especially a recent one, is remade by Hollywood. It seems pointless, especially now that global movies are so easily available.

DB: That infuriates me.

DLM: Like The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, where the Swedish version was gripping and well cast.

DB: Yes! I’m glad you said that. I mean it’s not that I think David Fincher made a bad movie.

DLM: Right, but it was unnecessary.

DB: Totally unnecessary. And he screwed with the dynamic between the two primary characters. As far as I’m concerned, he ruined it. One of my soapbox complaints on that score is the insistence of American studios to remake French sex comedies. They do it constantly, and I have yet to find one worth a damn. They (the French) consider sex to be fun and frothy and erotic, and we consider it to be vulgar. And there’s a basic problem there.

DLM: That leads me to the ratings system. My understanding is that in the U.S. you’re more likely to get a harsher rating for sex rather than violence, whereas in Europe or Asia it’s the reverse. It’s telling in terms of what we celebrate and tolerate.

DB: Yes, and it’s also arbitrary over here. Infuriatingly arbitrary.

DLM: Did you watch the documentary This Film is Not Yet Rated?

DB: Yes.

DLM: I found it fascinating, not in a good way, for all the obfuscation of the process and the inconsistencies.

DB: The only reason that system still exists – it’s so laughably arbitrary – is that nobody has figured out a better one yet, and everyone’s terrified of returning to the way things were in the ’60s when many states had their own rating systems, particularly the states in the Deep South which tend to be more conservative than the rest of the country. You could travel through the United States (in the ’60s) and see the same movie in 10 different theatres and see 10 different edits. And obviously that’s insane. So doing that (one system) seems to have mollified the states’ Attorneys General, but at the same time it’s such a joke. You must have seen some PG-13 that seem awfully hard and should be R.

DLM: The Dark Knight.

DB: That’s an excellent example. Then on the flip side you’ll see an R – Billy Elliot comes to mind – which was R because of some language, and that’s crazy. My major objection to the ratings system in general is that by definition it means that every movie made in the U.S. is appropriate for children. Because R-rated films do not keep kids out. So think about that: no one is making entertainment specifically for adults. That’s crazy. People write books specifically for adults. There are levels of maturity for content that are not being addressed by the Hollywood studio system because they know they are going to be watched by seven year-olds. The couple of times they’ve tried for an adults-only rating, they’ve failed. Everyone forgets that before it got co-opted by the porn industry, there were wide release X-rated movies like Clockwork Orange and Midnight Cowboy, which won an Oscar for best picture. These days when it’s X, or now NC-17, the problem is that you can’t advertise them.

DLM: And a lot of chains won’t show them.

DB: Right, especially in the Deep South.

DLM: A trend I’ve seen more in the last five years is the weekly box office scorecard. And these movies are immediately pegged as being successes or failures because of how much they made or lost against their budgets. Why should I care?

DB: It makes perfect sense in Daily Variety or The Hollywood Reporter because these people care about the results, but why do we care? Obviously it’s because there is a perception that if American Sniper is the #1 movie of the week, it must be a good film.

DLM: So they’re using it as marketing, but of course that’s a double-edged sword because if it tanks the first week, then that would discourage viewers from buying tickets.

DB: Yeah, well, we live in different times. Again, I blame the corporate culture. The studio moguls back in the day were willing to let a movie find its audience, and you don’t see that happen much anymore. They are few and far between. My Big Fat Greek Wedding is the last one I can think of, and it’s been a while now (2002). They left it in studios for two or three months which is what it took for it to finally hit.

DLM: Can movies still catch you by surprise? It’s changed from growing up with such excitement about previews – now you can track progress of movie from casting through production and see the online trailers 6+ months in advance of release. I miss the surprise.

DB: The last movie I remember seeing with a theatre full of people that caught everybody by surprise was The Truman Show. It was immediately obvious when the spotlight falls minutes into the movie and lands on the street in front of his feet. Absolutely nobody there had any idea what is was about. And everyone in the theatre was fascinated from the time the spotlight hit the street. It was that great audience experience we were talking about when nothing beats seeing a film in the theatre.

– Movies through the critical lens –

DLM: How did you get started with criticism?

DB: I started writing film reviews because I couldn’t find a critic who had my taste. There was a nagging sense of discontent that was percolating in the back of my mind. My friend started writing for The Aggie my sophomore year, and he encouraged me.

DLM: Do you remember your first review?

DB: My first review ran October 1974 in The Aggie, and it was a review of Night of the Living Dead, which was about to play on campus. I save everything.

DLM: Ever go back and read some of those early reviews?

DB: That review is positively, absolutely unreadable. It is horrible. Only because it’s so bombastically pretentious. I worked so hard trying to explain why this crappy little horror movie was such a good film that I was using all the wrong language to talk about it. So I think it took a while to catch my stride. And I never stopped. I was writing film reviews for The Aggie for a while after I graduated, then I got picked up by The Daily Democrat (Woodland). I was with them for a while until they were sold. My sense is I survived the sale but not the reorganization. And then I was so proud of myself – this is one of my personal movie moments – have you seen Kramer vs. Kramer?

DLM: Yes, but it’s been a while.

DB: Dustin Hoffman has that crisis where he’s got to have a job – now – before a court date. He’s got 12 hours or something like that. My wife and I ran a business around the corner (The Game Preserve) from September 1978 through January 1997, so I would’ve been there at the time. And I was let go…by mail.

DLM: By mail! Wow, was that more common at the time? Or was it obnoxious even then?

DB: Even then it was totally obnoxious. Cowardly. Crappy. I was so furious, and it would’ve been sent to The Game Preserve since I got it there. So literally, I stewed over it for 30 minutes, put a Closed sign in the door, walked over to The Enterprise, and as luck would have it they were between film critics. I said “The Democrat just dumped me…I want to work for you.” And she said “Okay.” So I was able to go home and tell my wife, “I was fired by The Democrat today, but don’t worry because I was hired by The Enterprise.” I thought that was terrific. So it’s my Dustin Hoffman moment.

DLM: So for a critic, how does the actual screening process work…do you go to a theatre typically, or do you receive DVD at home?

DB: Well hey, I‘m a dedicated guy. I’m two-thirds of the way through the book. And it’s killing me! I have never read such crap in my life. Anyway, back to the original question, there are promotional screenings sponsored by local radio stations. And we critics get in as well. We don’t have to stand in line to pick up the passes; we just get notification online.

DLM: So it’s not a screening specifically for critics per se. It’s a promotion that you can attend too.

DB: Right. And that’s most often. Now some of the smaller films – indie films – will have critics-only screenings. They’ll do it during the day, and those are not open to the public. And then in terms of frequency, below that, are DVD screeners.

DLM: What do you think of film review aggregator sites like Rotten Tomatoes or Metacritic? Is this sort of democratization of criticism a good thing or does it lower the bar on quality expectation? Does it demean the value of a properly written long form review?

DB: Yes, absolutely, but I can qualify that. It depends on who is being aggregated. Are they being drawn from real reviewers?

DLM: I noticed your reviews are not counted in Rotten Tomatoes.

DM: The Davis Enterprise site is not open to the outside world, and Rotten Tomatoes’ #1 baseline rule is that the review has to be available at the site where it is published. So they can’t use me. But I think newspapers should be smarter about not giving away things for free so I think it (The Enterprise) does have the right attitude. My objection is with Rotten Tomatoes. I don’t really have a problem with what it does; I like their mindset, their business model, how they put themselves together. What I object to are sites like IMDB where if you’re just looking at the number (overall rating), that’s just people. As you said a moment ago about why do I care about box office results, why do I care what the general public thinks of a movie? I want an informed opinion but you’d have to be blind not to notice that informed commentary is vanishing in this country. And I don’t just mean film criticism, I mean across the board.

DLM: Whether it’s Twitter or other media forms, everything is delivered in small sound bites. Everything has to be consumed more quickly.

DB: Isn’t it ironic that we’ve made all this progress, and we’re back to sending telegrams. I would like to think people are going to get tired of uninformed commentary. One of my favorite authors is Harlan Ellison, and decades ago he said something which at the time sounded extremely arrogant and snotty and has taken this long to seem prescient. To paraphrase what he says: ‘Everyone is not entitled to their opinion. Everybody is only entitled to their informed opinion.”

DLM: Along those lines of informed opinions, are there any film critics you read growing up – or read now – that you especially like and respect?

DB: Kenneth Turan.

DLM: From the LA Times?

DB: Yes. A great writer for modern people. Going back to when I was a kid it was Charles Champlin of the LA Times. Oh, he was so good. The ones I like are the sharp writers. I loved Roger Ebert.

DLM: I watched the Life Itself documentary on his life recently. Did you see that?

DB: I recorded it but haven’t watched it yet. I really liked Roger because he was the best of both worlds. He’s a sharp writer, he’s an outstanding analyst, but he obviously also wants to have a good time.

DLM: I think Ebert becoming the first film critic to win the Pulitzer must have elevated the visibility and maybe public perception of the role.

DB: Yeah, and suddenly you started seeing film reviews on the wire which just wasn’t the case when I was growing up. I think the best critics are the ones who have enough of an identity that you can figure out their tastes. And I think its just as valuable to find one that you always disagree with as one you agree with because then I know if he hated it, it must be great.

DLM: Are there any genres you especially love, or dread when you have screening?

DB: I try to be equal opportunity, but I don’t always succeed. It might be easier to say what I don’t like. I don’t get opera. Never have. So I didn’t understand all the fuss everyone made about Amadeus. I don’t like gory movies, but I do like scary movies. I like to be scared; I don’t like to be disgusted. I love well made romantic comedies. I adore well made caper flicks. How to Steal a Million. The Thief Who Came to Dinner. Charade – now that is one of my top five movies.

DLM: Are you always able to go into a movie with an open mind, or do you occasionally go in and feel like you have the review half written in your head because you know what you’re getting with certain actors or genres?

DB: No, never. Yes, it’s true I don’t greet the arrival of a new Adam Sandler movie with enthusiasm because of his recent past. I loathe stars – a term I use to distinguish them from actors – who treat their fan base in my opinion with contempt. And I think Sandler, Eddie Murphy, and others take the money and run, and I have no respect for them. I have an open mind, but sure, I have stronger doubts when I walk into an Adam Sandler movie than a Meryl Streep movie.

– Artistry and insights through economical (not simple) lines –

DLM: I read on your blog that you first connected with Peanuts while learning to read through the Fawcett Crest Peanuts reprint books. What about Peanuts spoke to you?

DB: I couldn’t have told you this when I was a kid, but looking back as an adult there are three artists whom I admire and have admired for a very long time in my life who I can point to as having the same talent that has captivated me, operating in different mediums interestingly enough: Charles Schulz, Ray Bradbury, and Jean Shepherd…newspaper comic strip, prose, and radio. All three of them have the unique, uncanny ability to evoke in me and in a lot of other people a sense of nostalgia for an upbringing you never experienced personally. Why is Peanuts still popular 14 years after Schulz died? Because, as was the case with Bradbury and Shepherd, the stories they told are unencumbered by the politics of the moment. They didn’t really namecheck sports figures or movie stars. They’re timeless. Children are never as sagacious as they are in Peanuts, or as prone to hilarious incidents as they are in Shepherd’s stories, or as likely to stumble across the weird and fantastic as they are in Bradbury pieces. But at the same time, I just get a warm feeling. I felt that growing up with Peanuts…and I just never lost it.

DLM: Did you always identify with a character in particular?

DB: Oh Linus, absolutely. The philosopher. And Charlie Brown to a degree. I was not a popular kid growing up, and the thing I identified with is this: everyone always talks about him as being this lovable loser, but he is not a loser. A loser is someone who fails and doesn’t try again. Charlie Brown never stops trying. And that resonated with me as a kid growing up.

DLM: He keeps going out to the pitcher’s mound.

DB: He does. He keeps trying to kick the football. He keeps trying to get to know the little red-haired girl. He never quits. As a kid I don’t know that I would’ve been perceptive enough to have cited that, but from the vantage point of an adult looking back, I know it made an impact.

DLM: Bill Watterson (Calvin and Hobbes) and Stephan Pastis (Pearls Before Swine) have both spoken about how much they were influenced by Schulz. Do you see his legacy in other comics or media today?

DB: Oh yeah. Any strip with sagacious children owes something to Schulz. Any strip with economical line art owes its legacy to Schulz. Notice I did not say simple; there’s a vast difference between that and economical. He just didn’t waste any lines. Any strip that pays very close detail to character interaction owes a debt to Peanuts. And then on a subtler level, any strip that masters the art of the one-two punch owes a legacy to Peanuts because it was one of his greatest talents. During his four-panel years, you’d have your initial setup in the first panel, and then something that would refine it in the second. Then you’d get a mini-punchline in the third, and then the fourth panel would deliver a topper. That’s not easy, and he did it very well. And he did it frequently. You’re talking about translating the kind of sensibilities you get with a good stand-up comic into a comic strip. One of the hardest things – and this is something I try to do with my writing – is to get people to read something the way you want them to, at the pace you want them to. He clearly wanted people to time the reading of his strip the way he imagined it.

DLM: It seems like the structure of panels in comics lends itself to that.

DB: Right, but not everybody takes advantage of that successfully. Let’s face it: newspaper comic strips are also a dying breed. What can we point to after Zits and Baby Blues that is going to have that kind of impact. I really worry that they’re the last two really good ones that are going to have that kind of longevity.

DB: The Peanuts Collectors Club held conventions every year called Beaglefest (author’s note: Derrick proudly displays the logo for the 2010 edition on his jacket), and the first one we attended was in 1993. Charles and Jeannie Schulz came to the Saturday evening banquet for each one of these as long as he was alive. That year, he came and gave a talk, and I’ll never forget…there were 300 people in attendance. And at the end of his talk he positioned himself at the door and shook everybody’s hand on the way out. Stunning. By 1997, my wife and I had climbed the ladder of the club hierarchy, and we were seated at the table with Charles and Jeannie. I sat next to him, and we talked movies for 90 minutes. I sure as hell was not going to talk comic strips with him.

DLM: It must have felt momentous after investing so much personally in Peanuts for so long.

DB: Yeah, it was cool. Lovely, lovely man. And excellent taste in movies I might add. I finished it (the book) and shipped off the proof copies to Charles Schulz’s office in November of 1999. And God’s truth, I’m not making this up, he looked at it, he dictated a letter to the secretary giving us clearance to go ahead and publish it, and he was taken to the hospital that afternoon. And then of course the announcement was made that he was going to have to stop doing the strip. Well, that changed the last two pages of my book. I was able to acknowledge the fact that he had stopped. And then the books (a first run of 2000 total) were all delivered to me. There’s a wonderful photo that ran in The Enterprise I just love dearly that shows me sitting next to these piles and piles of books. So, here’s my definition of mixed blessing, or mixed emotions: the story in The Enterprise about my first book having arrived and being released ran on Sunday, February 13th, directly alongside his obituary.

DLM: Quite a juxtaposition.

DB: I knew the story was going to run on Sunday, and we woke up to that…that he had died. Which also was the day the final Peanuts strip ran. By design. It all converged on the one day.

– Life in Davis –

DLM: What do you appreciate most about living here?

DB: Davis is Shangri-La. It’s a beautiful town. We love the attention paid to greenbelts. It’s a nice place to walk around, and it’s safe. By and large the citizen base, with this being a university community, is on average probably a little better educated than other bases. So it’s very easy to encounter folks and have lively conversations. And the people are friendly. We’re still able to find a lot of the things we need here. The location is outstanding. Sacramento is not far. San Francisco isn’t far. Tahoe’s not far.

DLM: If you’re mayor for the day, would you change anything?

DB: I don’t think so because I don’t think I’d be presumptuous enough to try.

]]>http://www.davislifemagazine.com/2015/03/davis-conversations-derrick-bang/feed/0Sweeney Todd Opens at DMTChttp://www.davislifemagazine.com/2015/03/sweeney-todd-opens-at-dmtc/
http://www.davislifemagazine.com/2015/03/sweeney-todd-opens-at-dmtc/#commentsMon, 02 Mar 2015 03:33:21 +0000http://www.davislifemagazine.com/?p=19117Sweeney Todd has become a bloody, worldwide success since being awarded 8 TONY’s, one of them for Best Musical, for its Broadway premiere. Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler crafted a tasty, thrilling, theatrical treat with Sweeney Todd that has simultaneously shocked, awed, and delighted audiences across the world. Not to be missed, “Sweeney Todd” is […]

]]>Sweeney Todd has become a bloody, worldwide success since being awarded 8 TONY’s, one of them for Best Musical, for its Broadway premiere. Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler crafted a tasty, thrilling, theatrical treat with Sweeney Todd that has simultaneously shocked, awed, and delighted audiences across the world.

Not to be missed, “Sweeney Todd” is considered one of Sondheim’s masterpieces and has enjoyed recent revivals and a film by Tim Burton. An infamous tale, Sweeney Todd, an unjustly exiled barber, returns to 19th century London seeking vengeance against the lecherous judge who framed him and ravaged his young wife. The road to revenge leads Todd to Mrs. Lovett, a resourceful proprietress of a failing pie shop, above which he opens a new barber practice. Mrs. Lovett’s luck sharply shifts when Todd’s thirst for blood inspires the integration of an ingredient into her meat pies that has the people of London lining up, and the carnage has only just begun!

Featuring a lush, complex musical score, with clever and memorable songs such as “The Worst Pies in London,” “Johanna,” “Not While I’m Around,” “City on Fire” and “Pretty Women,” SWEENEY TODD is a show — and a man — you won’t soon forget!

]]>http://www.davislifemagazine.com/2015/03/sweeney-todd-opens-at-dmtc/feed/0Bedtime Storieshttp://www.davislifemagazine.com/2015/02/bedtime-stories/
http://www.davislifemagazine.com/2015/02/bedtime-stories/#commentsSat, 21 Feb 2015 07:42:24 +0000http://www.davislifemagazine.com/?p=19063I’m told that when I was about two years old, I was left with my step-grandfather while my parents were out for the evening, and that when they returned a few hours later, I was still awake while he was sound asleep, seated on the floor, his back to the wall, surrounded by books I […]

]]>I‘m told that when I was about two years old, I was left with my step-grandfather while my parents were out for the evening, and that when they returned a few hours later, I was still awake while he was sound asleep, seated on the floor, his back to the wall, surrounded by books I had demanded he read to me. According to his accounts I was insatiable, and being the sweet man he was, he had acquiesced, reading story after story until he was exhausted and could read no more.

Childhood Favorites

It wasn’t much different when I was older and had my own children who climbed into my lap with an armload of books every evening. In fact, the unwritten rule in our home was no bedtime without a story, until they were old enough to read on their own and no longer required an adult to navigate through the adventures of Paddington as he licked marmalade off his furry paws, or to accompany Mary Poppins as she marched through the busy streets of London. Yet not requiring our help did not mean that our children did not still ask to be read to despite their ability to do so themselves. And so we made our careful way through the magical forests of Narnia, crawled together through the delicious tunnel of James’ giant peach, and marveled at a tiny hobbit’s bravery in the face of a fire breathing dragon. The art of listening to a story unfold involves an ability to shut one’s self off from reality’s distractions and a willingness to dive headlong into unfamiliar worlds to which we are temporarily invited. Worlds in which we are allowed to catch a glimpse of strangers’ lives, eavesdrop on conversations, briefly forget our own dilemmas and empathize with others.

Jeri Howitt and Carolyn Waggoner

Pence Gallery, site of Stories on Stage

Yet you don’t have to be a child to enjoy a good yarn. And as proof of this notion, all you have to do is peek through the windows of the Pence Gallery on the evening of the second Saturday of every month. Better yet, walk through the gallery’s doors and have a seat. According to Jeri Howitt, a diminutive powerhouse and founder and director of Stories on Stage, “Davis was ready for something like this.” Heading an all volunteer group of dedicated individuals, Howitt began this journey in 2014 with a mere twenty-five member audience in a gallery she believes shares the same philosophy of supporting emerging artists. Authors both new and established are selected by the small committee, made up of enthusiastic people such as, Carolyn Waggoner, Naomi Williams, Elise Winn, Anahita Hamidi and Michelle Woods. Excerpts of the authors’ works are performed by actors auditioned by casting director, Tim Gaffaney who selects performers from the Sacramento Shakespeare Ensemble, the Kolt Theatre, as well as unknown actors who are given a chance to demonstrate their talents as they read stories to an audience that has grown in size from anywhere between seventy-five and one hundred guests.

An audience of all ages at Stories on Stage

And it isn’t only the audience members who enjoy this almost primordial act of being read to. According to Howitt, “…authors are frequently overwhelmed to hear really talented actors read their work. It is magical what good writing, good reading and a beautiful room” can do. I can certainly attest to the unusual experience of having my own writing read by a talented actress such as Ruby Sketchley, who made me forget that I was the author and allowed me to sit back and enjoy her interpretation and voice. Audiences have had the pleasure of hearing works by Karen Joy Fowler, John Lescroart, Pam Houston, Sue Statts, Anthony Marra, and Kathryn Williams, among others. And part of that enjoyment is, according to Howitt, ” a return to a different form, the original form of telling stories, a shared experience, and that’s part of the pleasure.” Howitt recalls an exchange with an audience member who declared, “I didn’t even know I needed this” after enjoying an evening at Stories on Stage. As I looked around the packed room just this past Saturday, enjoyment was written on so many faces. Despite the date (February 14), young and old alike chose to spend part of their Valentine’s evening listening to Phillip Larrea read Kathryn Williams’ touching and funny story, “Three, Four, Knock at the Door,” transporting us all to an afternoon in a trailer park in Florida. And from there we made our way to Russia, for a brief glimpse into the bleak lives of mail order Russian brides, in Laleh Khadivi’s “Wanderlust”, recounted in a moving reading by the very talented Patricia Glass.

Phillip Larrea, Actor

Of course a good story is made even better if there are cookies, and cookies there were. Elise Winn’s lovely lemon macaroons and decadent chunky chocolate. For a nominal fee, audience members can feed their sweet tooth and their imagination. And if you like what you hear, most authors’ books can be purchased at Stories on Stage as well, so the journey into other realms may continue.